Family
by ArtikGato
Summary: Shotaro/Philip and Terui/Akiko. Shotaro wants a wife and kids one day, but is he willing to break Philip's heart to have that future?


**Family**

Fandom: Kamen Rider W/Double

Pairings/Characters: Shotaro/Philip, Terui/Akiko

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: In which I tackle the 'Shotaro is pretty obviously straight but also pretty obviously in love with Philip' issue. Post-series, includes spoilers for the end. Fluff, drama, and sappy romance.

Philip was glaring. He knew he was glaring, and he was really, really trying not to, but he just couldn't help it. He didn't have anything personally against the leggy blonde lady sitting across from Shotaro, he really didn't. It was just that the way she was talking to him, _flirting_ with him - the suggestive tone to her voice, the way she was leaning on the edge of her seat, legs and cleavage on full display, perfectly manicured hands clasped around Shotaro's - it was just so _infuriating_ to him. He tried to remind himself that she was a client, a client promising to pay _very_ well, at that. And even though her flirtations were most definitely, obviously on purpose, and there was some ulterior motive for them, Philip was _so sure_, it was really none of his business. It wasn't like Shotaro belonged to _him_ or anything. But, even still...

Philip was jealous.

And so, he was glaring. And the sideways glances and smirks that their client kept shooting at him told him that she _knew_ he was. And yet she kept it up. Doubled her efforts, even, giving Shotaro a pout and blowing him a kiss. Philip felt his hands ball into fists, felt his heart sink a little at the look of a lovesick puppy that Shotaro was wearing. A little over a year ago, Philip wouldn't have cared about this. Heck, he would have been _happy_ for Shotaro. And yet, now, he was acting jealous, and bitter, and glaring daggers at a woman that probably didn't deserve them. The year in limbo had changed Philip far more than it had Shotaro. Shotaro had eventually bounced back to the free-spirited man he had always been, just with a few more emotional wounds than before. But Philip, well, Philip tried to act the same, but his feelings had changed too much.

_Was coming back a mistake...?_

And now here he was, glowering intently at the client as she un-crossed and re-crossed her long, bare legs, and Shotaro was completely oblivious to his existence in the slightest as he focused very intently on her. He was really getting sick of it. If things took the direction the client was obviously trying to make them take, Philip could probably disappear again and Shotaro wouldn't even notice until the next morning. One of her hands very subtly made it's way to one of Shotaro's knees, sliding discreetly up to sit on his thigh, and the effect it was having on Shotaro was more than obvious. Enough was officially enough for Philip. He didn't have to question his jealousy, he _knew_ he was jealous. He _knew_ he was going to look possessive and yet, he didn't really care at the moment.

"I'm afraid, Miss Kumiko, all we can do at the moment," Philip interrupted, looking very pointedly first at the client, and then at Shotaro, "Is search. I promise we will call if we find _anything_, even a small detail."

That small smirk on the client's face was possibly the most annoying thing he'd ever seen in his life.

"I can see that I'm not wanted here. I'll be going," Kumiko replied, slowly rising from her seat (Philip noted, with a bit of contempt, that Shotaro's eyes followed her every moment with a completely disgusting look of lust on his face). Suddenly, it seemed like Shotaro was snapped out of a trance and he practically shot out of his seat to follow behind her, attempting to convince her to stay.

"Wait, Miss Kumiko! Philip doesn't know what he's talking about. We can search with you here, so please just-" Kumiko cut him off with little wave, practically shutting the door in his face.

The Agency was completely silent was Shotaro sighed with both disappointment and annoyance, practically stomping back to the chair he'd been sitting in and flopping down with a sigh.

"What was your problem with her, Philip?" the detective asked, his voice sounding strained. Philip sighed. No matter what his answer was, Shotaro would still be mad.

Apparently, he took too long to answer, because Shotaro sighed and started to stand up.

"Never mind. If you don't want to talk, I'll just go find her, and-"

Moving almost without thinking, Philip grabbed one of Shotaro's elbows to stop him, pushing him back into the seat he'd just gotten out of. The anger and confusion on Shotaro's face almost made him regret it, though. He opened his mouth to explain himself, only to promptly shut it. There was nothing he could possibly say that wouldn't make him sound absolutely crazy. If he lied, Shotaro wouldn't believe him. If he told him the truth, Shotaro would believe him, but certainly not at first.

_Coming back was a mistake._

"What the hell is your problem?" Shotaro finally snapped, starting to get back up. Philip just shoved him back down into the seat, a little more forcefully than necessary, and kept his hands on the brunette's shoulders, effectively pinning him down. Shotaro responded by trying to shove his hands away, a look of contempt on his face.

"Philip," Shotaro finally growled. "What are you doing?"

"I don't want you to leave," Philip finally replied.

"Why?" Shotaro asked, and Philip couldn't tell whether he sounded more annoyed, confused, or concerned. Philip kept his mouth tightly shut, for fear of saying something he couldn't take back. Heaving an annoyed sigh, Shotaro reached up and grabbed him by the collar, dragging the surprised Philip's face down to be level with his. "Why?" he repeated, his voice quieter but his tone no less icy and demanding. Philip was practically in his lap now, his face so close to Shotaro's...

He didn't even have time to think about how bad of an idea it was before he'd reacted out of impulse, leaning forward and easily closing the distance between them, kissing Shotaro. Shotaro shoved him away almost immediately, a look of complete shock on his face. Undeterred, Philip just pushed Shotaro's hands out of the way and kissed him again, moving to straddle his lap and effectively pin him down completely. He kissed him forcefully, demandingly...angrily. All the jealousy, and annoyance, and resentment, and all of the feelings he'd been bottling up from before were all coming to a head, and Philip found that he really didn't care all that much at the moment, not in the face of the light-headed feeling he got when Shotaro finally started to kiss him back.

_Well, maybe not..._

Pulling away, he briefly met Shotaro's eyes, suddenly regretting what he'd done when he saw the look in them - confusion, betrayal...fear. Not wanting to retreat, but unable to look Shotaro in the face, he reached up and wrapped his arms tightly around Shotaro's neck, burying his face in one of Shotaro's shoulders.

"Philip..." Shotaro finally panted. "What was that for?" With a sigh, Philip pulled back a little, so that only his forehead was resting on Shotaro's shoulder, and tried to explain himself.

"Why do you think I came back, Shotaro?" he asked, his voice raw. Shotaro didn't answer, but Philip could feel his confusion through their mental link. "It wasn't for Fuuto. I left the city in your hands for a good reason." There was a long, silent pause, and Shotaro finally said something.

"You came back for me, right?" he asked, his voice heavy with regret. Philip shook his head.

"I came back for me. I was selfish. You didn't need me to come back, but I wanted to come back anyway because..." Philip stopped, finding that his throat had tightened to the point that he couldn't finish his sentence.

"Because?" Shotaro asked, practically a whisper.

"Because I fell in love," Philip replied, his cheeks burning with a blush. Finally, he looked up, locking eyes with Shotaro. "With you."

Eyes wide, Shotaro could only gape in shock as Philip once again averted his eyes. "By the time I realized it, it was already too late. So I just...gave up."

Shotaro's hands, which he'd let fall by his sides, came up to wrap around Philip in a hug, and Philip just let it happen, savoring the feeling, knowing that it might never happen again.

"While I was gone you got so serious about the Agency...you were solving lots of cases, and going on dates and...actually acting like a true hardboiled detective. Like how you always wanted to be. And when I came back you went back to the way things were before...I was starting to wonder if maybe coming back was a mistake..."

"Aibou..." Shotaro started, gently pushing him out of the hug and holding him at arm's length away. "The reason I got so serious and went on all of those dates was because I was trying to get over you." Philip's eyes widened, and Shotaro just continued. "I got so used to having you around...even when you weren't near me physically you were always in the back of my head, and suddenly all that was gone. It was hard..." he heaved a heavy sigh. "I was trying to force myself to become hardboiled. But then you came back, and I didn't have to distract myself anymore."

There was a long pause, before Shotaro continued.

"But...you know, d-despite what just happened, I'm not really..." he started, but Philip looked up at him with a pained grin on his face, making him trail off.

"You're not really homosexual. Right?" Philip finished, and Shotaro swallowed, audibly. "I know. I've been inside of your head, remember? I know that."

"Then...why?" Shotaro finally asked.

Philip took a deep breath.

"I said I came back for selfish reasons, didn't I? I knew you were going to reject me, but I came back anyway, because I thought...well, even if you rejected me, I'd rather be here with you than just having to watch over you from the Gaia Library."

Philip's cheeks were stained red, and he was trying so, so hard to keep his voice level and keep his emotions from swelling up and getting the better of him.

"I thought if I came back I could just act like I always used to, and everything would go back to normal. Just being your partner should have been enough. I didn't think I needed anything more. I...I _don't_ really need anything more, actually. But even still, I can't stand the thought of you running off with some woman...so..."

Shotaro just sat there, almost in disbelief at the words coming out of his partner's mouth, even as Philip buried his face in his shoulder again, arms so tight around him that he was practically squeezing the brunette.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it...I want you all to myself, and I hate myself for it..." Philip felt like cursing a little when his voice broke on the last two words.

_Coming back was a mistake..._

They just sat there in silence for a while, Philip having said all that he needed to say, and Shotaro not knowing how to respond.

Finally, Shotaro couldn't handle the silence.

"Listen, I don't hate you," he started, and Philip trembled a little, almost refusing to look up. "I do love you, I just...I don't think I can love you the way _you _want me to love you." Philip didn't say anything, so Shotaro continued, at length. "I...I need some air."

Hesitantly, Philip climbed awkwardly off of Shotaro's lap, not once looking up as his partner headed for the door. He waited as the door closed behind him, waited until his footsteps faded into the distance, before allowing himself to collapse heavily into the chair.

"Coming back was a mistake..."

"Hidari, you look terrible."

Shotaro slowly raised his head to look in the direction that the greeting had come from, having to squint to see who it was. The bar was dim, and smoky, and Shotaro's vision was blurry for some reason. Red leather, short hair, scowling...ah.

"Go 'way Terui," Shotaro slurred, frowning. Why was he slurring so badly?

Oh. Probably the alcohol.

Terui just sighed, pulling a bar stool next to him and sitting down.

"You had a fight with Philip." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Shotaro just nodded, squinting over at him in confusion. "The Chief told me. She went over to see you two and found Philip...looking like a mess, to put it politely."

Shotaro tried not to wince. Leaving probably hadn't been the best thing to do...and going to a bar and getting shitfaced drunk _definitely_ wasn't the best thing to do, but he'd done it anyway. Not very hardboiled.

Folding his arms in annoyance at Shotaro's silence, Terui pressed on.

"He wouldn't tell Chief anything about what happened, but we have our guesses." Terui leaned closer to him, fixing him with a stern glare, not out of character for the serious but over-protective policeman, but definitely _unexpected_. "She said he looked _heartbroken_, Hidari."

Shotaro's only response was to flop onto the bar, resting his head on his arms.

"Far be it from _me_ to be giving you relationship advice, Hidari, but I'm the one who's married, here, and you're still a bachelor..." Terui trailed off. Shotaro turned his head to look over at the leather-clad policeman.

"What would you do if Akiko was a boy?" Shotaro asked. Terui's glare turned into a confused stare, eyebrows shooting up into his hairline.

"...what?" was all the policeman could ask.

"If Akiko was suddenly a boy, would you still love her?" Shotaro asked, speaking slowly to keep from slurring his words together.

"I..." Terui trailed off. Finally, he seemed to figure out what Shotaro was actually asking.

"It would be difficult, but of course I would," Terui finally answered.

"What if she'd been a boy all along?" Shotaro asked, after a momentary pause, and Terui chuckled.

"Hidari, are you in love with Philip?" he asked, and Shotaro sighed.

"Not romantically. I kind of wish I could be...things would be easier if I could be," Shotaro replied.

There was a long pause, as Terui thought over that.

"So...what's the problem, then?" he finally asked, and Shotaro sighed.

"The problem is...I'm straight. I like women," the detective replied.

"You can make an exception for him," Terui returned. Once again, a statement. Not a question. Not a maybe, or a possibility, but a definite conclusion.

"I...can't," Shotaro replied. Terui was starting to get annoyed with his friend by now.

"Why not?" the policeman asked.

"I'm just not physically attracted to him! Even if I tried to be, I don't think I could," Shotaro replied.

"Hidari," Terui replied, with a roll of his eyes. "Sex isn't everything in a relationship. You could be with him without ever having to be more than platonic."

"Well, yeah. _I_ could. But I don't think that _he_ could. Not after today..." Shotaro replied, coughing and blushing when he realized what he said. With a groan he just turned his face to bury it into his arms again. Terui paused, opening his mouth and almost asking what Shotaro meant, but snapped it back closed. It wasn't his business. "And besides," Shotaro continued, "I'm a man. I do have needs. I want...what I've wanted for a while now was to find some nice girl, and settle down, and have a family."

"But would you be willing to break Philip's heart for that?" Terui asked, quietly.

"Of course not!" Shotaro exclaimed, turning to look at Terui with a sigh. "So you see my dilemma, right? I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do, here." Turning to the bartender, he motioned for another drink, but Terui quickly cut him off, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him to a wobbly standing position.

"No more for you. I'm taking you back to the Agency," Terui scolded.

"W-why? After you you heard all of that?" Shotaro protested, even as Terui started to literally drag him out of the bar.

"All you can do right now is talk to Philip," Terui answered.

Shotaro had managed to sober up by the time Terui dragged him back to the Agency. But even if he hadn't sobered up on the way there, the look on his partner's face would have surely done the job. Philip really did look like a wreck, and Shotaro felt a twinge of heartache knowing that he was the reason. But he just couldn't bring himself to say anything when Terui finally pushed him to stand in front of the dark-haired boy. And Philip wasn't meeting his eyes at all, or saying anything. There was a long pause, before finally Terui gave a barely audible sigh and motioned to Akiko. Hesitantly she turned and followed him, the clack of the door signaling their retreat.

After an even longer pause, Philip finally looked up, and Shotaro felt like a vice grip clamped around his heart at the despair he could see in his partner's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Shotaro. Coming back was a mistake," Philip finally said. Shotaro started to interject, but Philip looked down at his hands, continuing. "If I stay I'll just be in the way, right? So...I'll..."

One of his hands glowed green and started to digitize, and Shotaro felt panic swell up in him at the sight. He had never, ever wanted to see that happen to Philip again. The thought of it happening again by accident alone had held him in absolute terror for the first couple of weeks after Philip had returned. And now it was really happening again, and _he was the reason_.

"No!" he shouted in protest, and before he even realized that he had moved at all, he was kneeling in front of his partner, gripping the hand that had started to vanish. Meeting his eyes he continued, his voice soft, terror lacing every word. "Please...don't do that to me again..."

"Shotaro, I-" Philip started, but Shotaro shook his head.

"Let me be the selfish one this time. Stay with me. Okay?" Shotaro pleaded, and Philip's hand slowly returned to normal, along with the beating of Shotaro's heart.

"Aibou, I'm sorry," Shotaro started, after a few moments. "I just don't think I can give you what you want. And there are things that you can't give me, either."

"What do you mean?" Philip asked.

"Children," Shotaro answered, meeting his eyes with a sad, apologetic expression. "A family."

Before either of them could continue, the door slammed open and a furious Akiko stormed into the room, slipper in hand.

"Shotaro, you IDIOT!" she shrieked, smacking the bewildered brunette on the head so hard that stars danced in his vision. He wheeled on her, holding his head.

"What the heck is your-" he started, but abruptly all of his anger vanished when he saw that she was crying. "...problem?"

"Family?" she asked. "You want a _family_? Isn't that what _we_ are, Shotaro? Aren't _we_ your family now?"

"Not by blood. Not legally," Shotaro answered.

"Blood and titles shouldn't matter!" she protested, raising her slipper again in a vaguely menacing fashion. Shotaro would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it if the situation weren't so grave.

"They matter to me!" he protested, and she huffed in anger.

"Fine!" she replied, pivoting around and stalking over to the other side of the room, to her personal filing cabinet. Shotaro watched, baffled, as she opened a drawer and, after a couple of moments of searching, pulled a bundle of aged-looking papers out of it. "If titles are so important to you, then guess what? You and I are literally a signature away from being siblings. _Legally_," she informed him, stalking back over to him and shoving the aged papers into his hands. Utterly bewildered, Shotaro had no choice but to look at the papers, his eyes widening at what he saw. The papers were nearly twelve years old, according to the date on them. The printed title at the top, the official government seal, the names written in Narumi Sokichi's handwriting...

They were adoption papers. Almost entirely complete adoption papers, save for one conspicuous line missing a signature.

"I found those a few months ago. I don't know the full story, but there were some letters in the box where those were stored. My dad was trying to adopt you as his son, but for whatever reason your parents refused to sign the papers," Akiko explained.

"Why..." Shotaro started, blinking up at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Think about it. It was a few months ago. You were still...recovering," she replied, sliding her gaze over to Philip, who was looking on with rapt attention. Turning her attention back to him, she continued. "I didn't want to drudge up any unwanted memories, especially right then. So I decided to tell you whenever I thought the time was right."

"But what does-" Shotaro protested, but Akiko cut him off.

"The point I'm trying to make is that you _do_ have a family, Shotaro. If you want kids that badly, can't you just adopt? Or...we're going to have kids. Uh...probably," she looked over at Terui, who was standing just behind her, and they both blushed. Clearly they hadn't really discussed the possibility of children. "They'd be like your nieces and nephews, right?"

"I can't just-" Shotaro started again, but this time Terui interjected.

"Hidari, what Chief is trying to say is that you can't just reject Philip without trying to make it work first," he said. Akiko nodded.

"Right! This isn't just about you two any more. We're involved too..." she folded her arms, glaring at him. "Whether you like it or not. And if you think for even a second that I'm going to stand by and watch Philip disappear again when I can actually _do _something about it this time... then you've got another slipper beating headed your way."

Shotaro paused. He didn't have time to try to sort out his feelings about Philip, not right now. That was something that was going to take him a long, long time and he knew it. Slowly, he turned back around, kneeling in front of his partner again and taking his hands.

"I can't promise you anything, Philip. All I can do is just...try," he said, his voice almost a whisper. Philip nodded, slowly wrapping his arms around Shotaro, before suddenly pulling him into a hug.

"Thank you..." the dark-haired teen answered.

Epilogue:

The walk from the train station to the hospital wasn't very far, only about a mile or so. And even though it was summer, it was also the middle of the freaking night, so the walk wasn't unpleasant, even though Shotaro was carrying a huge bag and wearing his usual attire. Approaching the hospital, he was stopped by a security guard.

"What's your business here?" the guard asked, and Shotaro grinned disarmingly at him.

"I'm here to see Terui Akiko...she just had a baby," he informed the guard. Said guard turned away from him and had a small conversation with someone over a radio, before turning back to Shotaro.

"Your name?" the guard asked.

"Hidari Shotaro," he answered. Another conversation that Shotaro couldn't quite hear, and the guard turned back to him.

"Wait here. An escort is coming to take you to her room," the guard instructed and Shotaro nodded, setting his bag down at his feet and stretching with a yawn.

"So how are you related Ms. Terui?" the guard asked, his tone a little more friendly than before.

"I'm her...brother," Shotaro answered, pausing a bit on the word 'brother'. It was such a recent development in their lives that it was still a bit of an odd statement for him to make. Just a few short weeks ago they hadn't been siblings legally, and then Shotaro had, somehow, managed to get in touch with his parents...and now, all of the signatures were on those adoption papers, and even though Narumi Sokichi had been dead for quite some time, they were still legally valid, and so... Shotaro and Akiko were actually siblings now. And Terui was his brother-in-law. He was still wrapping his head around the concept.

In a short amount of time a doctor showed up and Shotaro picked up his bag, waving his goodbye to the guard and following the doctor.

"Ms. Terui's labor was one of the shortest ones I've ever seen," the doctor informed him, smiling even though there were obvious dark bags under his eyes. "Amazing considering that she was two weeks early giving birth."

"I'll say. I get on a train in Sapporo expecting to get here during the labor, and it's all over and done with a third of the way into the trip!" Shotaro replied, and the doctor laughed a little.

"Ms. Akiko is doing just fine, she and your niece are both totally healthy," the doctor continued, before they came to a stop outside one of the rooms. "Well, here we are. You can use the intercom in the room if you need anything."

"Thanks!" Shotaro called after the doctor, before opening the door and quietly stepping inside. To his surprise, the lights were on, and Akiko was sitting up in bed, awake, and holding a tiny pink bundle in her arms.

"About time, Shotaro," Akiko greeted, with a grin.

"Sorry I'm late...what are you doing awake, by the way? It's 4am," Shotaro replied, walking over and coming to a stop next to her.

"Ryu woke me up. He told me you were here, and then went to go and get some coffee," she replied.

"I guess I just missed him..." Shotaro said with a shrug. Sitting down, he leaned over to peer at the small face visible in the bundle of pink. "So that's Haruko, huh?"

Akiko giggled a little. "Want to hold her, "uncle Shotaro"?" she asked.

"Can I?" he replied.

"Just don't drop her," Akiko warned, handing the baby over to Shotaro, who carefully took her. For a second he was just silent, staring at his new niece.

"Hi there, little Haruko," he started, finding himself grinning without realizing it. "I'm going to be the best uncle ever, you know. I'm so going to spoil you, and let you stay up past your bedtime, and teach you curse words..."

"I'll kill you, Shotaro," Akiko warned, in a sing-song voice. Shotaro just sighed in mock disdain.

"Fine, fine," he assented, handing the baby back when she started to squirm.

"That's what I thought," Akiko replied, smug. Stretching a little in the seat and then standing up, Shotaro blinked as a thought occured to him.

"Hmm, I'm shocked that Terui left you alone, even for a little while," Shotaro commented. The policeman had taken leave from his job more and more often the more pregnant Akiko had gotten, and for the past two weeks he had been nearly inseperable from her, worrying over her incessantly.

"Philip's here," Akiko replied, and Shotaro blinked at her, surprised, and started to look around the room, wondering how he had missed seeing the dark-haired youth. Akiko gestured to a corner where Philip sat slumped in one of the chairs, dead asleep.

"They let him stay after visitor hours were over? How did you manage that one?" Shotaro inquired, and Akiko giggled.

"I told them he was my brother-in-law," she replied, with a gigantic grin that scared Shotaro a bit. "Well...now most of the staff thinks that you two are married..."

"Akiko," Shotaro growled, cheeks flushing in embarassment.

"Hey, a little white lie never hurt anybody," she defended.

"You!" Shotaro protested. Akiko's grin faded into a small smile, and she looked over at the sleeping Philip for a few silent moments.

"You could always marry him for real," Akiko suggested. "It would make him really happy, you know." Shotaro sighed.

"Pushy pushy," he scolded.

"Hey, it works! That's how I got Ryu to fall for me, after all," she replied. Haruko started to stir a bit, and Akiko shifted her, quickly getting her to settle down. Suddenly, she looked up at Shotaro with a lopsided grin that was nothing but terrifying..

"You know what? You should wait a few years and then get married! That way Haruko could be the flower girl!" she suggested.

"No way," Shotaro dismissed, almost immediately. "I don't want a fancy Western wedding, just a small ceremony." Akiko's eyes lit up, a joyous smirk appearing on her face.

"So you've been considering it!" she accused, making Shotaro blush when he realized that he'd actually admitted that.

"W-well...yeah!" Shotaro replied, having no idea what to say.

"Well then, it's settled! Once I can walk again I'm taking Philip dress shopping," she teased, and Shotaro glared.

"Look, just because he cross-dressed that _one_ time..." he protested. Akiko giggled, and Shotaro rolled his eyes, suddenly yawning right after.

"You look tired," Akiko commented.

"Well yeah. It's 4am, and I just finished a ten hour train ride. Which, by the way, I couldn't sleep through thanks to being so worried about you," he replied, and she laughed.

"Go get some sleep," she commanded, holding up a hand to dismiss his protests. "Ryu will be back in a few minutes, and nothing terribly exciting will happen until morning anyway." Shotaro just nodded, practically dragging himself over to where Philip was sleeping. He sighed a little at his partner, seeing that he'd fallen asleep with his head resting on his shoulder, his neck bending at an awkward and uncomfortable-looking angle. Sitting down next to him, he carefully repositioned the youth's head so that it was pillowing on his shoulder, before he settled himself against the chair and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

And after what only felt like a few seconds, but what was actually several hours, Shotaro felt Philip stirring against him, and blinked open his eyes. It was light out, but the room was still and silent. Akiko and Haruko were both asleep in the bed, Terui asleep in the nearby chair with his arms and head resting on the bed beside Akiko. Philip had somehow moved from resting against Shotaro's shoulder to sleeping in his lap. Philip looked confused for a second, looking up and blinking up at Shotaro as he no doubt tried to figure out how he had gone from sleeping upright to sleeping in Shotaro's lap.

"Hi there," Shotaro greeted, and Philip just nodded, sitting up and stretching with a small yawn.

"When did you get in?" Philip asked.

"Around 4am," Shotaro answered, and Philip nodded.

"I thought you would. I tried to stay up and wait for you, but obviously that didn't work..." Shotaro just shrugged, and they sat in comfortable silence for a second. Shotaro looked over at Philip, watching as the younger male's eyes swept over the room, Akiko's words from the night before echoing in his head. '_It would make him really happy..._' Taking in a deep breath, his left hand sought out Philip's right, Philip blinking up at him in adorable confusion when he linked their fingers together.

"Hey, Philip," he started, looking over at him, with a big, goofy grin. Philip had been patient for nearly two years as Shotaro hesitantly advanced their relationship. He'd put up with all of Shotaro's unsureness and shyness and awkwardness. It was about time for Shotaro to stop hesitating. "I don't have a ring or anything yet, but...will you marry me?"

"Do you even need to ask? Of course I will," Philip answered almost immediately, leaning over and wrapping his arms tightly around Shotaro. "But...why, all of a sudden?"

"I had ten hours to do nothing but think on the train yesterday. I've got a sister, and a brother-in-law, and a brand new niece now. The Agency is so successful that we're even getting cases as far away as Hokkaido. And there's nobody else I'd rather be sharing all of this with than you, " Shotaro answered. Philip just sighed happily and let Shotaro push him back a little, eagerly leaning into the kiss the brunette pressed to his lips. There was a truly happy smile on Philip's face when they parted, and Shotaro felt his heart racing at the knowledge that he was the reason for it.

"So about the...wedding," Philip started, hestitating ever so briefly on the word 'wedding', as if he couldn't believe he was saying it, "Did you have anything in mind?"

"Nothing crazy. And not tomorrow, or anything, just eventually. A small ceremony, with just our friends and..." Shotaro looked over at the sleeping mother, father and daughter that were just feet away from them.

"...Family."


End file.
